LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Luka Doncic raced to the 200th 30-point game of his career as the Los Angeles Lakers took advantage of an under-strength Denver Nuggets lineup to score a 120-108 victory over their Western Conference rivals on Wednesday.
Slovenian star Doncic, once again spearheading the Lakers offense in the absence of the injured LeBron James, rattled in 31 points, with nine rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers cruised to a wire-to-wire win.
The Nuggets, missing Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, were never in the hunt after Doncic poured in 21 points in the first quarter alone as the Lakers sprinted into an early 46-29 lead.
The Lakers maintained a double-digit cushion for most of the remainder of the game, with Austin Reaves adding 22 points.
The Lakers improved to 43-25, leapfrogging Denver (44-26) into third place in the Western Conference standings.
Doncic, who joined the Lakers in February in a shock trade from Dallas, has now scored 30 points or more in eight of his 16 games with the Lakers following his blockbuster move.
“Like I always say, every day gets better,” Doncic told ESPN following the win.
“That’s three wins in a row now so we’ve got to just keep it going.”
“We go game-by-game because if you think too far in the future maybe you forget about the next game. We know the (standings) are tight but we’ve just got to try and win every game.”
The Lakers’ victory ensured that the Oklahoma City Thunder must wait a little longer before clinching the No. 1 seeding from the Western Conference.
The Thunder could have sealed the top seed with a Lakers loss after dismantling the hapless Philadelphia 76ers 133-100 earlier Wednesday.
The Thunder could afford to rest Most Valuable Player front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but were still far too strong for a Sixers team whose regular season is ending in disarray.
With Sixers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George ruled out for the rest of the campaign, and Tyrese Maxey missing with a lower back injury, the Thunder coasted to a blowout, wire-to-win after leading by as much as 41 points at one stage.
Seven Oklahoma City players finished in double figures with Aaron Wiggins topping the scoring with 26 points as the Thunder improved to 57-12 -- 12.5 games clear of the Houston Rockets.
The in-form Rockets meanwhile remained in second place in the West after rolling to their eighth straight win, a 116-108 victory on the road over the Orlando Magic.
Jalen Green led the Houston scorers with 26 points, Alperen Sengun providing offensive support with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.